The Temple of Jerusalem: From Moses to the Messiah

The Temple of Jerusalem: From Moses to the Messiah brings together an interdisciplinary and broad-ranging international community of scholars to discuss aspects of the history and continued life of the Jerusalem Temple in Western culture, from biblical times to the present.

This volume is the fruit of the inaugural conference of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, which convened in New York City on May 11-12, 2008 and honors Professor Louis H. Feldman, Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature at Yeshiva University. Feldman is the doyen of modern scholarship on Judaism in the Greco-Roman period, focusing on the writings of Flavius Josephus. A beloved mentor to generations of Yeshiva University students and of scholars across the globe, Professor Feldman has taught at YU since 1955.

"The articles are consistently of high quality. This book is highly recommended for any academic collection in Jewish studies."Jim Rosenbloom, Judaica Librarian, Brandeis University; President, Association of Jewish Libraries

Biographical note

Steven Fine is Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York City, where he focuses upon interrelationships between the literature of ancient Judaism, art and archaeology. Dr. Fine holds a doctorate in Jewish history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an MA in art history from the University of Southern California and a BA in religious studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Table of contents

Words of CelebrationRichard M. Joel, Yeshiva University
1. The Inauguration of the Tabernacle Service at SinaiGary A. Anderson, University of Notre Dame
2. God as Refuge and Temple as Refuge in the PsalmsShalom Holtz, Yeshiva University
3. “See, I Have Called by the Renowned Name of Bezalel, Son of Uri…”:
Josephus on the Biblical “Architect.”Steven Fine, Yeshiva University
4. The Temple Scroll: A Utopian Temple Plan from Second Temple TimesLawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
5. From Toleration to Destruction: Roman Policy and the Jewish TempleMiriam Pucci Ben Zeev, Ben Gurion University
6. Notes on the Virtual Reconstruction of the Herodian Period Temple and CourtyardsJoshua Schwartz and Yehoshua Peleg, Bar Ilan University
7. Envisioning the Sanctuaries of Israel —The Academic and Creative Process of Archaeological Model MakingLeen Ritmeyer, Trinity Southwest University
8. Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction: The Temple in Pesiqta RabbatiRivka Ulmer, Bucknell University
9. The Mosaic Tabernacle as the Only Legitimate Sanctuary: The Biblical Tabernacle in SamaritanismReinhardt Pummer, University of Ottawa
10. Why Is There No Zoroastrian Central Temple?: A Thought ExperimentYaakov Elman, Yeshiva University
11. Rival Claims: Christians, Muslims and the Jerusalem Holy PlacesFrank E. Peters, New York University
12. Imagining the Temple in Late Medieval Spanish AltarpiecesVivian B. Mann, Jewish Theological Seminary of America
13. Images of the Temple in Sefer ha-BahirJonathan Dauber, Yeshiva University
14. Interpreting “the Resting of the Shekhinah”: Exegetical Implications of the Theological Debate among Maimonides, Nahmanides and Sefer ha-HinnukhMordechai Z. Cohen, Yeshiva University
15. Remembering the Temple: Commemoration and Catastrophe in Ashkenazi CultureJacob J. Schacter, Yeshiva University
16. The Temple of Jerusalem from the Renaissance to the EnlightenmentMatt Goldish, Ohio State University
17. “Jerusalem Rebuilt”: The Temple in the Fin-de-siècle Zionist ImaginationJess Olson, Yeshiva University
18. Avi Yonah’s Model of Second Temple Jerusalem and the Development of Israeli Visual CultureMaya Balakirsky Katz, Touro College
19. Jerusalem during the First and Second Temple Periods: Recent Excavations and Discoveries On and Near the Temple MountAnn Killebrew, Pennsylvania State University
20. Digging the Temple Mount: Archaeology and the Arab-Israeli Conflict from the British Mandate to the PresentRobert O. Freedman, Johns Hopkins University

Edited by Brian Smollett, Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Christian Wiese University of Frankfurt am Main

Reappraisals and New Studies of the Modern Jewish Experience provides a variety of new perspectives on several central questions in Jewish intellectual, social, and religious history from the eighteenth century to the present.

Edited by Alan J. Avery Peck, College of the Holy Cross, Bruce Chilton, Bard College, William Scott Green, University of Miami, and Gary G. Porton, University of Illinois, Urbana.

The questions Jacob Neusner has asked have shaped how scholars today approach the rabbinic literature. These essays honor that legacy, addressing topics in early Judaism, Judaism’s relationship to Christianity and other religions, American Judaism, and the role of humanistic study today.

The Gender Challenge of Hebrew is the first book to delve in depth into gender representation over the 3,000-year history of Hebrew. Malka Muchnik analyses the grammatical characteristics of gender, reveals social and cultural issues reflected, and presents challenges for achieving change.

The essays in this volume examine David Grossman’s novel See under: Love. The multispectral reflection on the issue of imagination and the alleged unrepresentability of the Shoah greatly contributes to the ongoing discussion and helps understanding this rich, complicated novel.

In A Vocabulary of Desire, Laura Lieber provides a nuanced introduction to the variety of ways in which Jewish liturgical poets from Late Ancient Palestine understood the Song of Songs, complemented by annotated translations of six complete works.

In Traditional Society in Transition Bat-Zion Eraqi Klorman examines the Yemeni Jewish existence from the mid 19th century onwards. It chronicles this community’s transition from a traditional patriarchal society to a group adjusting to the challenges of a modern society.

Further Studies in the Making of the Early Hebrew Book addresses a variety of aspects of the early Hebrew book often treated in a cursory manner. The essays encompass book arts, printing-places and printers, and unusual book varia.

Art, History, and the Historiography of Judaism in Roman Antiquity explores the complex interplay between visual culture, texts and their interpretations, arguing for an open-ended and self-aware approach to understanding Jewish culture from the first century CE through the rise of Islam.